Blank & Jones / SoEighties 8

A new volume of classic twelve-inch club and extended mixes from the 1980s will be issued on 3 May by curators Blank & Jones. SoEighties volume 8 is an unmixed three-CD set and we have been informed by Blank & Jones that all 34 tracks are from the original source “100% vinyl rip free”.

This set includes George Michael‘s long ‘Monogamy Mix’ of 1987’s I Want Your Sex (inexplicably omitted from the 2011 deluxe editions of Faith), the extended remix of Katrina and the Sunshine‘s Walking On Sunshine (first time on CD) and Shout from Tears For Fears in it’s rare ‘Extended Mix’ form (i.e. not the ‘US Mix’).

We have asked Blank & Jones to comment on each track within this set and you can see what they have to say below (along with the track listing, of course).

Due to licensing restrictions, SoEighties 8 is only officially available in Germany. Of course, it’s very easy to order via the German Amazon site, so no major issues there!

“To the best of our knowledge first time on a full CD, wasn’t included on the “faith” deluxe editions. only released as 3″ cd single with track ids in the late 80s”.

02 Robert De Niro’s Waiting (Special Disco Mix) – Bananarama 05:43

“To the best of our knowledge, only released once on a CBS collection in Australia in the ’80s. Even the Warner archive was not able to find this mix in their UK archive. We cleaned some tape skipping (sound was very high at the very beginning and turns a bit more low after 30 sec)”.

03 Lessons In Love (Extended Version) – Level 42 06:56

“This is the full 12″ version mixed by Julian Mendelsohn from master tape”.

04 Each Time You Break My Heart (Dance Mix) – Nick Kamen 06:54

“Another master tape transfer done by the wonderful Warner Archive team in the UK. Usually everyone uses the US extended version by the Latin Rascals. This is the classic dance mix, to the best of our knowledge, the first time on CD”.

05 Right on Track (Midtown Mix) – The Breakfast Club 07:10

“We love this track, mixed by Jellybean, but we think it appeared somewhere else before…nevertheless, great song”.

06 Wishing I Was Lucky (Long Version) – Wet Wet Wet 05:40

“To the best of our knowledge, only released once on CD in the 80s on a Japanese Mercury sampler”.

07 Talking In Your Sleep (Special Remix) – The Romantics 05:36

“This was kind of a last minute addition. We rediscovered the track while doing the mastering for German “Formel Eins” CD editions (first German music/video clip tv show in the ’80s)”.

08 Shout (Extended Mix) – Tears For Fears 08:02

“This is the extended version, NOT the US mix. We used the version from the Mobile Fidelity edition, but edited the very end where the master fader comes back in”.

09 Big Area (Lost Mix) – Then Jerico 06:11

“This mix appeared as b-side of a CD single. The intro is just breathtaking…U2 would be proud of a stadium anthem like this…”.

10 All The Things She Said (Extended) – Simple Minds 05:09

“Was released of course, on the themes box, but we quite like this song…”.

11 Two Rivers (Extended Mix) – The Adventures 07:23

“To the best of our knowledge a CD premiere. Sadly this mix was missing on the Cherry Red reissue of the “Theodore and Friends”…now complete. From EMI archives UK from master tape”.

CD 02 | 76:38 UNMIXED COMPILED BY BLANK & JONES

01 Walking On Sunshine (Extended Mix) – Katrina And The Waves 05:37

“We are very proud of this track: It took EMI archives weeks to track down this mix. Isn’t it funny that the extended version of one of the biggest single hits from EMI ever, wasn’t released on cd until now? From the original master tape”.

02 Why Can’t I Be You (12″ Remix) – The Cure 08:08

“Released on the CD video single in the 80s. Mixed by Francois Kevorkian, one of our favourite mixer of the 80s….”.

03 Rush Hour (Extended Remix) – Jane Wiedlin 07:21

“Jane was always a bit in the shadow of Belinda after The Go-Gos split up, but this song is still a masterpiece and deserves a “rediscovery”!”

04 I Think We’re Alone Now (Extended 12″ Version) – Tiffany 06:34

“Released on CD single in the ’80s”.

05 Valerie (Remix) – Steve Winwood 04:07

“The drumming is different on this mix. Sadly many compilations use the “older” version from the album, but this is the one you know from the radio, back in the days”.

06 Fire & Ice (12″ Special Ski Dance Mix) – Marietta 07:25

“When music movies became fashionable in the ’80s (Flashdance, Footloose etc) former ski guy Willy Bogner directed this movie about dreaming of skiing…the main theme was produced by Harold Faltermeyer. To the best of our knowledge, only released on a CD sampler in the ’80s”.

07 Gambit (Extended Version) – Cretu 08:01

“Another CD premiere. Transferred from master tape. Michael Cretu is a fantastic producer (Enigma, Sandra, Moti special etc) and this 12″ is one of his best solo releases”.

08 Can’t Stop Running (Powerblast Mix) – Space Monkey 05:03

“What an anthem. Released on the same label as Wham! back in ’83. Only appeared once on a Dutch CD collection in the ’80s, to the best of our knowledge”.

09 Pop Goes The World (Dance Mix) – Men Without Hats 07:46

“Was released on CD single in the ’80s, one of our favourites…just great”.

17 responses to Blank & Jones / SoEighties 8

This is the first major 12″ compilation I’ve been pretty stoked about in a while. “I Knew You Were Waiting” in its 12″ mix is one I’ve been seeking out for a long time, and the US Mix of “Dancing With Tears in My Eyes” will be a welcome addition after hearing the 10-minute version so many times.

Really I don’t get too excited about the inclusion of “I Want Your Sex” … very easy to rip the CD single as 1 track these days. But I guess some people don’t want to go to that trouble ;)

Oh wow, this is a treasure trove!! Quite a bunch here that I bought on vinyl and digitized for myself a couple years back – especially stoked about Katrina and the Waves (though my vinyl rip is one of the best-sounding I have). Blank & Jones rule!

I must say that I am very pleased that there are people willing to take the time and make the effort to make previously-unreleased (on CD or otherwise widely) items available. Thanks to Blank & Jones for their work on this mix!

It’s good they noticed a mix was in mono and got a different version from the record company – who were willing to do find/supply it. TAKE NOTE ZTT!!! Some interesting stuff, and hopefully they’ll continue not over compressing the music. Good to see it’s vinyl rip free too.

Just want to say that I am disappointed that the packaging has changed slightly and that the booklet is now loose in the middle rather than it a pocket as previously. There are still the same number of panels, so is the cost difference really that much?

hello simon, sorry to hear you are disappointed about the placing of the booklet. i do hope that you are happy with the rest – the music ; )
anyway, as you might have noticed, the booklet contains now 40 (!!!) pages in order to give each original 12″ artwork one full booklet site. therefore the booklet is too thick to be pushed in a pocket. only alternative for the future would be using a jewel case 4 cd box. we preferred this more stylish digipack. but as always we are happy to receive feedback from everyone. also on packaging…in the meantime, hope you enjoy the music on the three cds!

Please Piet, change the package into a double jewel case in the future. The digipacks are nice, but also very fragile. And by now, most customers will buy this compilation online: does anyone receive a digipack by post without damage on the sleeve? I don’t. It has always got some dents or creases, even with the Amazon packaging. A double jewel case is more durable and the booklet (how thick it may be) has its own place.
By the way, another excellent track list. Kudos for you guys for tracking the original masters. Hope you will make a lot more volumes. I haven’t heard the sound quality yet, but I do hope for a gentle compression. But I already read some positive feedback on this point. Hope the earlier volumes will receive a new less compressed mastering some day (or at least will be offered newly mastered online in wav-format). These volumes are killed by an insane level of compression. Very very frustrating and so ugly sounding.